


"Conflicted" Feelings (365)

by PrincesaParkerina



Category: Junior Express (TV)
Genre: Francis is Matilda lol, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-10
Updated: 2019-04-10
Packaged: 2020-01-10 20:46:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18415547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrincesaParkerina/pseuds/PrincesaParkerina
Summary: Francis stands up to get a glass of water,somehow too much and nothing at all happened on his way there.





	"Conflicted" Feelings (365)

**Author's Note:**

> I heard 365 by Katy Perry and immediately thought of Francis having his Matilda moment to it and this happened.  
> I was in doubt if I tagged 'underage' or not because this is recent s5 timeline and he's just not underage anymore,the catch is that he had been just that during a good chunk of his and Arnoldo's relationship.  
> Fine...let's do numbers: I always suppose Francis is 15 in s1,so.... 5 seasons and 6 years later,he's 20-21 and Arnoldo's what? 50? Maybe more? Damn....

_Waking up next to you in the middle of the week_  
_Never needed anyone to send me off to sleep_  
_And I know I said go slow, but I can't hold back no more_  
_Got a premonition this ain't gonna be a fling_

Francis had sat up on his bed around 2am,yawning and stretching his sore limbs,hearing his bones crack painfully all over,the skilled waiter looked down behind him,sighing contentedly despite his troubles,he had finally managed to disentangle his body from Arnoldo's heavy,dead weight above him,very much crushing him against the mattress.

With time,he learned to believe it feels nice to be engulfed by Arnoldo's arms and trapped by the older man's legs like this despite his aching bones,the talented waiter had yet to sleep tonight,the brunet chef's snores are not pleasant to the regular human ears and Francis' ear plugs weren't exactly within reach.

There they were,sitting peacefully above his light blue pillowcase on his own bunk bed,little ear pieces right beside his plush bowtie,mocking him and his ... unfortunate,unconventional,very troubled love life.

His and Arnoldo's....relationship is a couple months away from completing 10 years.

Don't mistake it,10 years since they first met,their ... 'romantic' relationship started about 7 years ago,when Francis was 14 and less than a year from joining Junior Express.

The sassy waiter was a small 11-year-old kid trying to prove to the world and most importantly his parents he was a real boy.

Plenty Pinocchio jokes to spare.

42-years-old Arnoldo came in,defended him against his parents and bullies,put him under his wing and promised him a place where everyone would respect him and see him as he really is.

The great cook did take awhile to take Francis to that place and EVEN THEN it took even longer to be respected,but mostly for his job,to this day the effective waiter is sure there's people at this monorail who have no idea he used to be someone else.

Maybe it's better this way.

 _You make a weekend feel like a year_  
_Baby, you got me changing_  
_24/7, I want you here_  
_I hope you feel the same thing_

Francis stood up,humming a song Ricardo showed him earlier today,before that fateful vending machine arrived.

This last morning was fun,they danced happily to it,tried new steps and the hardworking waiter accidentaly made a few objects float around the Rehearsal Room,few music sheets,Carlos' drumsticks,all the lost guitar picks that were scattered about the room suddenly coming to light,Francis had stopped dancing,moving his arms and moving altogether, everything fell to the ground instantly. 

"Wow......." 

Ricardo was speechless and awestruck,Francis looked down at his hands in wonderment,he did it once again now after that not-long ago memory came back.

"Are you  _really_ a magician then,Francis? That ... is actually pretty cool,isn't it....?" he concluded in a whisper,huge smile adorning his charming features.

 _I want you to be the one that's on my mind, on my mind, on my mind_  
_I want you to be there on a Monday night, Tuesday night, every night_  
_Are you gonna be the one that's on my mind? 365, all the time_  
_I want you to be the one to stay_  
_You give me the night and day_

Francis danced through the bunkroom with feather light steps,few books,lego pieces,Arnoldo's hat and robe floating around following the kind waiter's every move,he wasn't sure how he was doing this,despite being so tired,sleep deprived and honestly very hungry,he felt happy and light.

Francis settled on going to the kitchen to get a glass of water,maybe even bite an apple before returning to his and Arnoldo's room,putting on those sweet ear plugs and closing his weary eyes for the next 2-3 hours,if he's lucky.

 _Love it when you come back and can't take it when you leave_  
_Got me fantasizing our initials already_  
_And I wanna just let go, falling deeper than before_  
_Say that you are ready, lock it up in a heartbeat_

Slippers-clad feet dragging through the red floors of Arnoldo's kitchen while the young apprentice danced and now felt the liberty to sing to himself,since (presumably) everyone is asleep.

Brown-green orbs focused on the pans hanging above him,they left the hanger,starting to float around him,Francis giggled to himself in lost,drunken joy and disbelief,he spun circles in the spot in front of the fridge,his hands over his mouth,trying to stiffle his mad laughter while all the silverware,pans,towels and food that were sitting quietly through the small space were now in the air surrounding him in a mad dash.

No object ever made contact with him,until he caught a hold of a giant tweezer,singing excitedly into it,jumping about the small area,kitchen appliances following around,always somehow getting out of the way of his big ballet-like steps and exuberant high jumps.

 _I think about you all the time..._  
_24/7, 365_  
_I think about you all the time..._  
_24/7, 365_

 _Are you gonna be the one?_  
_Are you gonna be the one?_

 _(Are you gonna be the one?)_  
_I want you to be the one..._

Francis' daydream of having Arnoldo's last name while rocking about,hugging the big,colorful tweezer to his chest was crushed by a strange sound coming the opposite direction of his shared room,everything falling to the ground,clanking loudly,Francis gulped,startled olive eyes wide open and alert,looking everywhere,spoons and forks following his wild gaze.

"What...was that?" the curly-haired teen questioned himself upon the unusual sound he just heard coming from the direction of the dining car,he also heard a loud groan and yawn coming from his shared room,a bed creaking could be heard faintly,panic settled on the waiter's handsome features.

"Nonononono,please no...."

"Franciiiiiis,is it you in _my_ kitchen? It better be,because if it's a Rulo or Natalio again,I swear I'll-" annoyed,drowsy,sleepy-sounding Arnoldo trying to stand up from his bed cannot be a good sign,Francis tried to calm his nerves by breathing in and out,softly running his anxious fingers over the bowties of his new pjs.

" S-sí,soy yo... s-señor...I came here to fetch a glass of water and stepped on something on my way! I'm sorry if I woke you...I'll make sure it- I'll make sure it doesn't happen again...." the talented waiter shouted from the kitchen,both hands around his mouth to project his voice better. 

Francis visibly relaxed,thick,extremely tense shoulders falling to his sides along with all the remaining forks and spoons,sighing deeply in relief wneh he heard the bed creak yet again,signaling the great cook laying fully back on it.

"Va bene,Francis,try to be more careful and don't take too long there! Remember that you have to be up by 5!" his boss shouted already half asleep against his donut pillow,making Francis grin brightly,heart full of endearment for the strict man.

"Yes,sir." he still shouted back,even though he knew it was to deaf ears.

Francis himself doesn't understand it,he learned so much about himself during all these years touring with Topa y Los Rulos.

Learned how talented he is,how skilled and resourceful he is,he can cook,sing,dance,tap dance,play the flute,keyboards and even do Magic! 

He's not that bad at the drums either ... if only Carlos would let him get near it more often....

But one thing never seems to change,which is his ever conflicted feelings for Arnoldo.

Conflicted is an understatement,if he tries too hard to think about it,he will kill the great chef and himself after.

Francis was shaken away from his... conflicted thoughts as he heard that strange sound again amidst the immediate silence,reminding the aspiring magician that he still had a mystery to solve,Francis started pacing,licking his dry lips and gripping to the top bowtie of his pjs in deep concentration.

Glass of water absolutely forgotten for the time being.

"Francis,you should go check it! No,it must be dangerous! ... But everyone's asleep!!! .... Right? Don't you see?? If everyone's asleep that's even worse,because it means there's someone else aboard,another polizón...but not Rulo Ricardo this time ..." the young apprentice kept on talking,to keep his mind the most at ease as possible,it wasn't really working.

Tip-toeing outside of the kitchen,stepping into the dining car and finding it dark and empty as it should be,Francis heard the sound again,he gasped,dark olive eyes going wide,napkin holders trembling on their tables then falling over,the sound came from further away.

"These powers are starting to not look good... _You're_ the one who has to clean this!" the charming waiter huffed to himself in pure frustration,stopping abruptly in front of the doors leading outside the dining car,almost letting his nose hit them.

Francis finally heard in between his ever racing heartbeat and blood rushing through his ears his stomach grumbling loudly,he ran a hand over it,fingers scraping against the bowties in the process,deep frown taking over his face.

"Oooh,Francis,suppose you didn't realize you were _this_  hungry already,eh? When even was the last time you ate? Yesterday morning? Lunch?" the skilled apprentice tapped his fingers under his soft chin in wonder,another hand remained above his protesting stomach as if to shut it.

"Oh! Arnoldo told you you could eat one of those veggie burgers since the Rulos didn't want them,that's right! Estaban taaaan ricos también... you did such good job,Francis,te felicito!" the curly-haired boy licked inside his lips upon remembering the taste of that burger,patting himself firmly on the shoulder and grinning cheekily,dipping his head and looking away.

He was allowed to feel proud of himself,right? 

His stomach grumbled once again,even louder this time and Francis found himself sighing in defeat,dragging his feet back towards the kitchen,opening the fridge,finding many sweets,desserts and fruits there,he longed for them ... so badly,yet his thin fingers only reached for the pitcher of water,pouring it on a nearby plastic cup.

"Dad used to say when you feel hungry for a snack in the middle of the night,you drink a glass of water and go back to sleep..."

Francis drank it all down in one gulp,perhaps that way he could trick his stomach easier....

"Arnoldo always says No to snacks, _you can only eat it when I serve the food, **I** say when and where to eat! **I** say WHAT you can eat! What to wear...what to say...." _

Francis stopped the flawless impersonation of his boss/partner mid-sentence,ever articulating fingers stopping in the air,along with the many 'music' plastic cups that had been following the frantic movements of his hands up until now.

"Francis....what if it's an animal that snuck into the monorail??? You should call Arnoldo or Capitán Topa!!! No...Francis,what are you thinking??!! You don't even know if there's something to even worry about!" the aspiring magician stopped in his tracks and loud thoughts,gripping way too hard to one of the black,decorative bowties of his new pyjamas.

He was adoring these thingies,he couldn't thank Josefina enough,these bowties are actually 'real',instead of just stamped onto his shirt and he can pull and pick at them as much as he feels like it.

He heard another sound,a different one,Francis willed himself to keep stepping forward.

"Go check it,Francis,it's probably nothing and you would have bothered Arnoldo and Captain Topa for nothing! Can you imagine if you had called them and-"

"Hey,young man,you look lost,scared and tired...want some fries?" 

**Author's Note:**

> This.... was supposed to lead to way more but finally getting to write Francis talking to himself was so much fun,I got insanely distracted.  
> He finds Natalio who's been taking his time on Topa's vending machine and that should do something about the boi's hunger for the day.


End file.
